The Pittsburgh Shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue : May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel

DEAR READERS, I have to talk with you this Saturday evening. I am a Pittsburgher. The appalling attack on Jewish Pittsburghers has left me stunned and angry. I know families who worship at the Tree of Life Synagogue. I attended a Bar Mitzvah and a Bat Mitzvah there. That 8 or 11 -- or even 1 -- of these Pittsburghers has been gunned down for being Jewish is a stain on America. The Pittsburgh SWAT teams and FBI and other first responders have done great work in arresting the madman who broke into the synagogue and shot the worshippers. The suspect’s name is Robert Bower. He is 46 years old. He reportedly shouted “all Jews must die” at police after being subdued. • Saturday is Shabbat in the Jewish faith, and the shooting reportedly took place during a crowded prayer service. According to one local reporter, Tree of Life Synagogue has one of the largest congregations in the city. I can tell you that it is a large, open and light-filled place of worship. Pittsburgh has one of the largest Jewish communities in the United States. I am so angry that I have tears of anger. The grandparents and great grandparents of the Jews in the Tree of Life Synagogue came to Pittsburgh in the early 20th century to get away from Russian and other European pogroms. They came before and after WWII to get away from the Nazis. The Jewish community is recognized in Pittsburgh as a great part of the intellectual and cultural heartbeat of the city. How could we let them be gunned down. How !!! • It says a lot about Pittsburgh that the Public Safety Director choked up and almost cried when he was talking to the press. That is who we are in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. There been no local outcry of political blame or rush, in the face of shock and grief, to the gun control agenda. • Written in Aramaic, the Mourner’s Kaddish is an almost 2,000-year-old prayer traditionally recited in memory of the dead. The prayer makes no mention of death. Instead, it is a prayer dedicated to praising God : "Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen. May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen. May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen." • It has become trite to hear political leaders speak of broken hearts when death strikes. But, I can say in all humility tonight that my heart is broken -- for Pittsburgh, for its Jewish community, and for Jews everywhere.